The magnetic edges have always bugged me. Turning the option off (setting it to none) seems to have no effect. Today it bugged me enough that I thought I would take a peek at the source and fix it. The trouble is there is no mention of the magnet edges in the source code.

After wondering if I was crazy, I took a peek an the .rc file and noticed that the context menu does not have the magnetic edges sub menu. When I opened up the about dialog entry, the version text reads XWinder 1.50. So it looks like I don't have the latest code. The file dates, September 30, 2004 are consistent with the 1.50 release date of October 1, 2004.

Does anyone have the 1.60 source?

Also, it looks like all of this code is MPL/GPL, so I will be sure to release my changes to the world.

I don't have the ability to test this under Linux or Mac. I could never get the Linux installer to run, and I have not saved up enough money for a new iBook, yet. Consequently any changes that I make will be for Win32 only.

Those installed from the setupfw160.exe seem to be the last available as long as links to the on-line version are broken.
They used to be accessible from the Source File List paragraph of the XWinder site page.

BTW Magnetic edges strength adjusments work like a charm on my XP box.

Though, I must say I don't use XWinder. I would like to if it had not the side effect of making me shake my windows sometimes while I type. I don't remember how that happens and maybe I should insist on correcting the faulty gesture rather than give up.

Could you make a little review of you experience at using it so those like me could discover it is worth some effort at getting used to it.

Those installed from the setupfw160.exe seem to be the last available as long as links to the on-line version are broken.

The release notes says that there was no difference between 1.53 and 1.60. I am downloading 1.53 right now. (I just tried the URL and it worked. Maybe we can use this to archive the older versions.) I will let you know if the code is in there.

Could you make a little review of you experience at using it so those like me could discover it is worth some effort at getting used to it.

Sure.

I really like the bi-manual re-size feature. I use it all the time. It is a really intuitive way to re-size a window. Just put down three fingers on each side, and start moving around. Your left hand controls the position of the top left corner and your right hand control the position of bottom left corner.

I don't really like the one handed gestures for resizing. They never felt as natural as the bi-manual one.

There is a really cool side effect of the way the resizing is implemented. It can re-size windows that you cannot re-size normally. I really like this, because it is often just a mistake on the part of the developer to not make the window re-sizable. Of course, this does make windows with controls that do not grow look a little strange.

The bi-manual gesture can be used for moving as well, but the one handed move gesture is the one that I like to use best. I especially like that I can move a window without actually giving it input focus. I use this to move documentation that I am using out from underneath the code window that I am editing. This saves me a few clicks because window that I am typing in never loses focus.

So, that is what I use XWinder for. I think that it is a great little tool. I would like to explore using its code to write some more custom gestures that might not be possible in the gesture editor. I also got the idea to use it to record macros and then play them back. I use editor macros all the time but not every editor supports them. This would be a great way to make the keyboard support them.

Just some ideas that I have been tossing around. I would like to start by figuring out why I cannot turn off the magnetic edges first, however.

So, it is possible to effectively take advantage at using XWinder . The issue of window positioning is poorly addressed by the native display management that any basic tool may fill the gap somehow.
I am currently using a small utility program I found by chance on a French forum topic about the 2405FPW Dell display I bought recently. It has a huge screen and a member of this forum built a handy window manipulation tool he named WinSplit.NET. It is so basic that it is a killer! The numpad is all you need to organize you whole display.

(I customized the Bimanual Point Gesture in an XML library in order to call WinSplit actions and it looks like I am already using a modified version of XWinder instead).

Should you succeed at tuning up XWinder, these simple corner and side slamming actions could be nice to have...

For anyone that cares the, 1.53 setup did contain the 1.53 source. So to repeat, the version 1.60 installer installs the 1.50 source. This is not the latest source. If you want the latest, grab the 1.53 setup.

I will post again, if I figure out my problem with the magnetic edges.

I found the change that I need to make. Well at least I think that I did. I need the Windows DDK in order to compile the app. There was another project that I wanted to work on that needed it as well, so I just ordered it. It should come on CD in a few days. I only paid for shipping and handling. I wonder why it is not a free download.

Anyway, I think that the problem is that the magnetic calculations are still performed even when the strength of the magnetism is set to zero. I think that the time that it takes to compute the positions is slowing the window down enough, so that the magnetism is still kinda there. I plan of just skipping the calculation altogether if the magnetic window strength is set to none.

Also, the magnetism calculations look rather complex. It might be possible to optimise them a little bit.

Now you mention it, I do notice what you get when magnetic edge is set to none. If I did not at first, it may be because I have recently upgraded my hardware and a good CPU-GPU combination may hide the whole thing.

It is noticeable when you drag a window in a very oblique path against another or the edge of the screen. You are magically able to slide it along a perfect strait line across the whole screen. This is definitely the result of some unnecessary calculation.

After more thorough checking, I recognized the major-axis-only behavior. In fact, what I've noticed was not the remainder of unexpected magnetic edge detection. It rather looks like what I had to deal with while working on a LogiCad driver (sort of 3D mouse). The idea is to - optionnaly - zero up the presumably unwanted drift for fast oblique moves. If I am right, this could help at diagnosing what you are looking for.